“My Connection To Play.”

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. 

Going out and playing football or baseball with the boys, when I was a tomboy, was a great way to learn about winning and losing, and most girls didn't have that experience. 
Hillary Clinton

“Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child’s soul.” Friedrich Froebel (founder of the concept of kindergarten)

When I was a child my mother was the president of the block association.  The block association was members that were mainly women.  The Summers were to get the girls to play sports.  We played punch ball, basketball, and baseball.  We always played boys against the girls. 

Today, play is much more than boys playing more than girls.  The roles of play is equal for every child to enjoy.

Role of play as a child is laughing, no rules, and having fun.  As an adult, the games became more serious, less laughter, and lots of rules.

Vygotsky's zone of proximal development is where the child can be assisted to move his or her performance level to his or her potential level.  (Smidt, 2006)